Many vehicle seats such as those used in automobiles, boats, trains, industrial or commercial vehicles, etc. include a swivel seat mechanism that enables a seated vehicle occupant to rotate their seat clockwise or counterclockwise to a desired position about a pedestal. Use of the swivel mechanism typically allows the seat occupant to adjust the direction of their seat for ease of use of vehicle controls, comfort, safety, recreational use, etc.
Typically, vehicle seat swivel mechanisms only allow the user to rotate the vehicle seat about a central axis. Oftentimes, however, a vehicle seat rotating about a fixed central axis requires excessive clearance between the vehicle seat and a vehicle wall in order to permit free rotating movement, necessitating the mounting of the swivel mechanism further away from any sidewall obstacle than if the seat did not rotate. The movement of the seat mount away from the sidewall may result in the misalignment between the central axis of the vehicle controls, such as for example a wheel, and the central axis of the vehicle seat, causing an operator to have to assume an awkward position to operate the vehicle controls. Thus, in a vehicle with limited dimensions, such as for example a marine vehicle, the size and placement of the vehicle seat may result in wasted space, the alteration of seat dimensions due to the rotational constraints, and/or the misalignment between the vehicle controls and the seat mechanism.
Unfortunately, in the case of boats, for example, a wide range of seat designs and seating layouts typically requires boat manufacturers to design base support locations to a wide range of vehicle seats, and allow for dimensional variants based upon the numerous vehicle seat designs. Further, the wide range of seat designs and layouts sometimes result in a more centrally located base support to allow adequate rotational clearance, which can result in significantly less operating space for vehicle occupants. Still further, due to the large number of vehicle seat options, consumers oftentimes desire self-contained, universal replacement seat mounts that operate with their current vehicle equipment.
Some vehicles, for example trains, have employed eccentric swivel mechanisms to rotate benches from a forward facing direction to a rearward facing direction. Such mechanisms, however, are typically designed for rotation of large, bulky, elongated seats, and therefore are not particularly well suited for adaptation to smaller vehicle seats. For example, such mechanism oftentimes employ release mechanisms integrated into the base of the support structure and, additionally, such mechanisms sometimes employ roller and cam slots that require the addition of cam guides that may not be utilized in modern seat support systems.